Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Monday, 12 September 2011

Government refuses to listen to facts

Teachers will have returned from the summer break hoping for news that the Government has been forced to step back. However, few will be that surprised to hear that the summer's ‘negotiations’ have been a sham. It seems that Ministers are determined to impose an artificial cost-ceiling on pensions schemes that leaves no room for any genuine negotiation.

The Government still wants to make us work longer, to pay in more and then to get less pension when we eventually retire. They have even announced their proposals for how much more teachers will have to pay if they succeed in bringing in the first phase of increased contributions next April.

Anyone earning a full-time salary of more than £40,000 would have to pay 8.0% of their salary towards pensions - compared to 6.4% now. But linking contribution levels to full-time equivalent earnings will particularly penalise part-time staff and Inner London staff who get paid more to offset the high cost of living in the capital.

The Government were rocked by the strength of our action on June 30 - and the extent of public support - but they won’t give in easily. That's because they are on a mission to transfer wealth from working families to the rich, to cheapen the costs of pensions for the benefit of their big business friends that want to take over privatised services - including the new ‘free schools’.

But as the mass petition being launched by seven education unions makes clear, we completely reject the Government's claim that our pensions are unaffordable and a drain on taxpayers.

No, who's draining away our resources? - it's those who wreck the economy and then expect us to bail them out, the big businesses who won't pay their taxes and even have the cheek to object to the 50p tax rate - it's certainly not the dedicated staff providing vital public services.

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays